5.29.2010

We received a phone call from son Matthew, a couple of days ago, informing us that he was headed to Grand Encampment, Wyoming for the holiday weekend. He was meeting up with a college friend & 18 other guys to camp and take in some fly fishing. He was uncertain whether he'd have cell phone coverage, in case I tried reaching him.

My response...

be careful

how long of a drive is that?

stay safe

do you know how to fly fish?

be careful when your in the water

(he informs me he will be standing in knee high water)

are there bears in Wyoming?

(he laughs and replies there are no bears in Wyoming)

Two day's later...

Phone rings, I answer, it is son Matthew (who is cutting in and out on his cell phone), informing me he is somewhere in Wyoming and his GPS isn't working on his phone and was just wondering if I would "hop onto the computer" and guide him to his destination! Mother has now gone into total panic mode & starting to hyperventilate (not quite, but close), so I pass him off onto his Dad. Dad takes phone from me (the one that hangs on our wall) and grabs his cell phone out of his pocket...phone junkie! One phone at ear and another in hand... Dad's first reply, "Yea, I hear it's pretty desolate, do you have enough gas?" So now dad is fidgeting with his cell phone screen, doing the stretching of fingers thing across the phone (like the weather man does), trying to zoom in on some 1" x 3" map on his phone screen. OMG... Mother is now screaming (not really, but close to), "where is our atlas, wouldn't it be easier to just get the atlas?" Dads replying, "I have one right here, as he holds up his phone." Yes, a 1" x 3" map that his 50 year old eyes can no longer read! So dad continues to fidget with his phone map as he keeps loosing Matthew on the phone. Mom is now thinking...Wonderful, this is just great, he is out in the middle of nowhere, a gazillion miles from any town, he's lost, gps isn't working, and no cell phone coverage...

and he doesn't own an atlas!

Atlas? What's that?

Dad has now moved to a larger map that his 50 year old eyes can read, our PC. He hops onto google earth and says "how cool is this?" He is now showing me actual photos of some desolate highway that our son is lost on, very reassuring. There aren't even cars on this interstate...

Dad is now texting son directions. Mom now needs a Xanax... her lost son is now sending & receiving text messages while driving....something this mother continues to preach to her adult children to never. ever. do.

One message sent to dad, from son, reads - "Tell Mom not to worry"...

Question of the day...

do our twenty-something-year-olds even know there is such a thing as a road map? Would they even know how to use one? Do they still teach how to use a map & how to fold up a map in school?

In the meantime, I will stick with my old, worn & tattered atlas. It will always get me to where I'm going regardless of where I'm at...give me a hard copy, please!

5.27.2010

Three patterns for the price of 2! Large format patterns with colored photographs of finished items including a nice mix of needle art. Wool applique, punch needle, embroidery & cross stitch...

Projects in these patterns all coordinate, each piece accents the other creating a lovely display for your home. Patterns are now uploaded and ready for purchase on our website.With thy Needle & Thread,Brenda

5.25.2010

I am back home from a successful Quilt Market, a bit exhausted & always relieved to have this behind oneself. The past several months have been consumed by the preparation for this show. The shop owners seemed eager to buy new goodies for their shops...drop by your local shop to see what's new & what's coming!

Today's plan was to begin unpacking and organizing the office. BUT... Summer arrived while we were at market! I neglected to turn the air on at the office before leaving, BIG mistake! I was greeted by a gush of hot & humid air upon opening the door this morning....ugghhh! So...change of plans! Plan B is to begin uploading the new Country Stitches - With thy Needle & Thread patterns onto the website at home (where it is much cooler) until the air conditioning catches up at the office. Tomorrow things should be back to normal and we will begin to ship orders.

5.17.2010

Our annual visit to Grandma's the day she brought the baby chickens home....our job, dipping their beaks into the water.

One of my favorite pictures of you Erin...the only light in the brooder house was the warm glow of the heat lamps keeping the little chicks warm. You were 21 months old...close to the age of your very own little one. Yep, you do have a bit more hair then Beckham has!

The above photo was taken by Grandma of you & I, or should I say of you & my hands and nose? Body parts half cut off or a mysterious foot showing up at the bottom of a picture was Grandma's signature...hence, just my nose over there to the right, see it over there, nice! Little did we know, Grandma was just way ahead of times in body cropping when picture taking.

So Erin, it's another birthday that falls during Quilt Market...hate that when that happens!

Dad & I'll be thinking of you as we travel, unload and set up the booth today on this your 30Th birthday. I'll be thinking of the delicious meal Rob is cooking you and that yummy piece of birthday cake piled high with ice-cream & very much wishing I was there.

This photo pretty well sums up my past 4 months...lots & lots of moments where I felt like I was falling apart. Life does sometimes get in the way and we don't always allow for these un-planned occurrences in our hurry-scurry lives we live.

And for the hair...

well,

I was just short of pulling my hair out one day, the day I couldn't remember how to use my Microsoft Office Excel program...after a few blankety blankety words expressed by myself on my thoughts of this program, my darling husband rescued me & my hair!!

Speaking of my darling husband, he will be making & working the Minneapolis show, so ladies please don't be too hard on him.

And p-l-e-a-s-e don't ask him any questions that he doesn't know the answer to...

BUT, I am almost there, I am almost ready, everything is almost done...

I have just a few small show details to finish up with today and then all the dollies & ditties will get carefully wrapped in bubble wrap and packed for their trip to Minneapolis. There are 20 fresh & new pattern designs being released at the show.

Procrastination is not the reason I work right up until the very final deadline...

No, I don't consider myself a procrastinator.

I have this major problem of remaking everything I create at least one time over. Does anyone else out there in blog land do this? Darives me crazy!! There must me some scientific name for this illness, right??

Reminder: Country Stitches will be closed from May 12 - 24Th for final preparations and attendance of the International Quilt Market. You are welcome to shop online during this time, but orders will not ship until I return, unpack and get settled back in on May 25Th.

5.05.2010

This pattern will tempt all you wool appliquers to get that cross stitch needle & hoop out once again. This design is mostly wool applique with just a sprinkling of cross stitch motifs here & there for added charm. I love the mix of the 2 elements - wool applique & cross stitch. Prairie cloth is a heavier loosely woven cloth with coarse threads...with a great feel. The cross stitched motifs are worked over two threads, making for larger X's and great for those who want to dabble in cross stitch...not too tough or overwhelming!

5.04.2010

As National Nurses Day approaches I cannot help but think of the wonderful & caring nurses my mother had during her 22 day stay in the Lakes Regional Hospital, Spirit Lake, IA. The nursing care that she received was superb.

Mother came out of surgery around 9:30 and was getting situated back into her room around 11:00 am. My mother is one to make sure no one goes hungry. A hour into recovery she is telling the nurse, who is keying in Mom's vitals into a computer, that she is concerned that she is missing her lunch & asking if her lunch is getting cold. The nurse puts her arm on Mom's hand and looks at my sisters and I and gives us a twinkling wink...a wink I'll never forget. A wink that reassured me my mother is in good hands. This nurse knew she had a special patient...

A patient, named Mom.

Our daughter, Erin, chose this demanding career & we couldn't be more proud of her hard work & dedication. Having a nurse in the family does come in handy...many phone calls with questions ,during my mothers situation, were made to this nurse daughter of ours. Thanks Erin for all your informative and reassuring phone calls during Grandmas hospitalization. I always hung up the phone feeling better after getting a nurses opinion & your words of encouragement...thanks dear!

Here is a special nurse poem I'd like to share with you ~ author unknown.

When the Lord made Nurses He was into his sixth day of overtime.

An angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order?

A nurse has to be able to help an injured person, breathe life into a dying person,

and give comfort to a family that has lost their only child and not wrinkle their uniform.

They have to be able to lift 3 times their own weight,

work 12 to 16 hours straight without missing a detail,

console a grieving mother as they are doing CPR on a baby

they know will never breathe again.

They have to be in top mental condition at all times,

running on too-little sleep, black coffee and half-eaten meals.

And they have to have six pairs of hands.

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way!"

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord,

"It's the two pairs of eyes a nurse has to have."

"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that does quick glances while making

note of any physical changes, And another pair of eyes that can look

reassuringly at a bleeding patient and say,

"You'll be all right ma'am" when they know it isn't so."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a model

that can talk to a grieving family member whose child has been

hit by a drunk driver...who, by the way, is laying in the next room uninjured,

and feed a family of five on a nurse's paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the nurse very slowly,

"Can it think?" she asked.

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses;

5.02.2010

Shop owners attending International Quilt Market please stop by our booth #3401, we love seeing familiar faces and putting a face with the voice on the other end of the phone. It is there where you can meet Miss Hilda along with many other new pattern designs from Country Stitches ~ With thy Needle & Thread. If you are a consumer, put a little bug in the ears of your LNS or QS folks that you love Miss Hilda and perhaps they'll order it just for you....heheheeheee!

5.01.2010

Would look lovely stitched on 40 count over 2 threads with an approximate finished size of 71/2" x 5 3/4". A sweet little size to stitch into a little hanging pinkeep to hold old treasures, such as buttons, hat pins & of course a key!

Click here for a printable May Day Sampler 2010 chart.I think this design would look wonderfully prim on dark linen...Remember...we'd love to see your finished piece so send us pictures & we'll post them right here!

The above chart is not to be sold, shared, linked to or used for free handouts.

What was your favorite May Basket treat? My favorite was from the Gazda girls, their little cups with pipe cleaner handles were traditionally filled with popcorn, peanuts and pastel mints...yummy, loved that combination of salt & sweets.

"When April steps aside for May,Like diamonds all the rain-drops glisten;Fresh violets open every day:To some new bird each hour we listen."- Lucy Larcom

J.M. Gardner 1888 - antique reproduction

13 NEW COLORS OF WOOL FELT!

Cat on a Tin Roof

Antique Sampler Brooches!

No right clicking!

All photos on this blog are copyrighted. Any use of our photos, in any way, is strictly prohibited.

~~Please respect the artist!~~~

All items posted on this blog are copyrighted designs. Please respect the artist!

Translator

Time to stitch!

Floss Keeps

Meet Martha Tipton 1853!

Ann DIckinson 1819

Another antique reproduction chart

Ann Sandles - 1846

an antique reproduction

Mansion House at Fox Hollow

an antique reproduction chart

Gift Certificates

Give a Country Stitches Gift Certificate!

Beautiful Vintage Seam-tape Ribbon

Click on photo to view all the colors!

We are a major supplier of the Valdani 3 strand floss!

Works beautifully for punch needle embroidery. Our floss prices are some of the best prices on the internet!

Whatever thy hand findest to do, do it with all thy heart.

What our customers are saying...

Nan says,
"I just had to tell you that I got the 2 cross stitch patterns that I purchased and they are the most thorough and well put together patterns I have ever purchased from a designer. You should be very proud of the quality. Thank you so much. It is nice to purchase a pattern and know it is worth every penny."

Ruthe says,
I love your graphs...of all of the designers (and there are many)..your graphs are the easiest to read and create...
I thank you.

Vikki says,
I just have to tell you, I love your designs!! Your patterns are so clear and concise, so easy to understand. All my completed pieces look lovely!

Mary Ellen says...
Good Morning! I recieved my order the other day, and I can't figure out what to do first. Your stitch charts are the best I have seen. Thank you!